The Georgetown University men's basketball team (17-14, 8-10 BIG EAST) will host West Virginia (17-15, 9-9 BIG 12) on Tuesday, March 18 at McDonough Arena in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The meeting between the fourth-seeded Hoyas and fifth-seeded Mountaineers will be the 52nd, with GU holding a 26-25 series advantage

Coverage of Tuesday night's game will begin at 7 p.m. on ESPN with Mike Patrick and Dan Dakich calling the action. The game can also be heard locally on ESPN 980 with Rich Chvotkin providing the play-by-play.

The Last Meeting

Georgetown

62

West Virginia

74

January 7, 2012
Morgantown, W.Va.

Late Comeback Comes Up Short as No. 9 Georgetown Falls to West Virginia, 74-62
Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) scored a team-high 20 points and No. 9 Georgetown used a late 9-0 run to pull to within four points, but it wasn't enough as the Hoyas saw their 11-game win streak come to an end in a 74-62 loss to West Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown. The loss was only the second of the year for the Hoyas, who fall to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the BIG EAST, while West Virginia improves to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

MATCHUP VS. WEST VIRGINIA...WVU was the second best three-point shooting team in the BIG 12 this season, shooting at a .384 clip (252-for-657) through 32 games. Conversely, the Hoyas featured the BIG EAST's second best three-point defense, limiting opponents to a .325 shooting percentage (186-for-573) through 31 games...This will be the first meeting between Georgetown and West Virginia, since the Mountaineers joined the BIG 12 Conference following the 2011-12 season. GU had dropped its last five meetings to WVU, including a 60-58 loss in the BIG EAST Championship Final in 2010. The two teams have met three times in the post-season, with Georgetown holding a 2-1 edge.

Senior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep), a First Team All-BIG EAST selection, and two-year captain, leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging 17.1 points and 4.1 assists. He ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring, is seventh in the league in assists, fifth in free throw percentage (85.9%), 13th in three-point field goals made (1.7), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.7, 122 assists, 71 turnovers) and second in minutes played (36.8).

Sophomore guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central/Oak Hill), who was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll five times this year, is second on the team with 16.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the BIG EAST Conference. He is second on the team with 2.7 assists, third on the team with 4.8 rebounds and leads the team with 1.2 steals per game. In BIG EAST games, he averaged 17.4 points per game. Smith-Rivera was the best free-throw shooter in the BIG EAST this season, making .873 percent (144-of-165) of his attempts at the line.

Junior forward Jabril Trawick (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends), who missed five games with a broken jaw, is fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game. Since returning to the floor, Trawick is averaging 11.8 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor in 28.9 minutes per game.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA...The Mountaineers makes its 16th appearance in the NIT, after falling to Texas, 66-49 in the first round of the BIG 12 Tournament last Thursday. WVU is 21-15 in NIT play...Junior guard Juwan Staten, an All-BIG 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team selection, leads the Mountaineers, finishing the regular season leading the BIG 12 in assists (5.8 apg) and second in the conference scoring (18.0 ppg). Sophomore guard Eron Harris makes up the other half of WVU's dynamic backcourt, averaging 17.4 points per game, while shooting .426 percent (87-204) from three-point range. Harris ranked fourth in the BIG 12 in three-point field goals made.

The winner of the Georgetown-West Virginia game will play the winner of a game between top-seeded Florida State and No. 8 seed Florida Gulf Coast in the second round. Game dates are between March 20-24.